Wetting agents



i'latented July 18, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HEINRICH BERTSCH, F OHZ'EMNI'IZ, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR '10 H. TE. 36mm AKTIEN- GESELLSCHAIT, OI CEEMNI'EZ, GERMANY, A CORPORATION OF G W e WETTING AGENTS Ito Drawing. Application filed July 29, 1929, Serial 5 leather industries. The forms in which they are most frequently used are their salts, the soaps, and the salts of their sulphuric esters, the Turkey red oils. Both classes of substances, in spite of all other difierences, ex-

" hibit a common defect, namely that they form insoluble salts, the so-called lime soaps, with alkali earth and metal salts contained in water with which they are used. This is to be ascribed to the fact that the soaps and Turkey red oils contain carboxyl groups still capable of reaction. Recently products similar to Turkey red oils but having a high content of organically combined sulphuric acid and thus a relatively high resistance to limehave been produced successfully b using special methods of sulphonation. The formation of lime soaps can be entirely obviated, however, only by com lete elimination of the carboxyl group wh1ch is capable of reaction. This is possible, for instance, by sulphonating the alcohols corresponding to the higher fatty acids instead of the fatty acidsthemselves. By the sulphonation of the former, products are obtained which are extraordinarily insensitive to lime and magnesia salts.

The object of the present invention is to provide a further class of (products or preparations which may be a (led totreatment agents instead of soaps. Turkey red oils or the like. This class comprises the sulphuric esters of the amides, anilides or other amides substituted in the ammonia radicle of fatty or oily acids of high molecular weight.

These products may be obtained in various ways, for example by sulphonating the amides, anilides and so forth of hi her fatty acids, particularly the amides an anilides of unsaturated or hydroxy-fatt acids. Thus for instance, the oleic acid ami e produced in known manner may be treated with the usual sulphonating agents such as concentrated sulphuric acid, fuming sulphuric acid or chloro-sulphonic acid, if occasion demand in the presence of water binding agents such as y for manifold uses in the Ho. 382,077, and in Germany September 5, 1988.

anhydrous organic acids, their anhydrides or chlorides. In this manner the sulphuric esters of the fatty acid amides, anilides and so forth are obtained more or less according to the following scheme:

CH3.(CHs)1.CH=CH.(CHa)7.COOH (oleic acid) CH3.(CH2)1-CH=CH.(CH2)1.CONH: (oleic acid amide) CH3.(CH2)7.CHCH.(CH2)1.CONH2 (sulglpuric ester 0! oleic acid aml c 504K The neutralized sulphonation products,

apart from their powers of resistance which a in this case also are dependent upon the absence of any free carboxyl group, exhibit high Wetting, foaming, emulsifying and cleanlng properties and also the characteristlc of imparting a soft, smooth, but not sticky feel to textile fibres and allied materials. Said products are, therefore, suitable textile and leather industries and also for other purposes,.

Thus in all forms of treatment of textiles with neutral, acid or alkali treatment liquids, said products enhance the action by the materially increased wetting and impregnation achieved and by the conversion of fats, impurities and the like into a ueous dispersions.

In vat dyeing the addition of such products enables the reduction to be performed in the presence of little, or weak, alkali, which is important in the dyeing of vat dyestufi's on animal fibres. In naphthol red dyeing it is in this manner possible to dye even on animal fibres if desired. Addition of the substances above referred to also facilitates the moistening or wetting of pulverulent dyestufi's and other powdersfor their conversion into aqueous liquids for the production of pastes and so forth. For spinning purposes, their aqueous dispersions with or without further additions have proved to be valuable moistening a nts. Similarly the action of treatment liqu1ds in the manufacture and handling of leather is accelerated, strengthened and advantageously modified b the addition of the sulp onated fatty aci amidea' Said compounds are also capable of being used with advantage in the paper manufacturing and treating industry, in the manufacture of pigment colors, in the dyeing of furs, wherever it is a question of the wetting efl'ect, dispersion, penetration and conveyances of effective substances or components. The properties of said products also allow of their use in pharmacy as emulsifers, in the pharmaceutical industry as foaming agents and skin-protective media and also as constituents of selves and creams, as a substitute for vasenols and the like.

It is a characteristic feature of said products that they render textile fibres and other materials treated therewith soft and pliable without givin the same a sticky feel so that they are suita le for the softening or revivin of such materials. I

heir efiicacy as agents in the extermination of pests depends upon the same powers of active wetting and enetration. he products are also valuab e as additions to corrosives and as boring oils in the metal industry. Furthermore they may be employed asdisersives of the nature of protective colloids, or instance, in the manufacture of ink and in fat cleavage. Their penetratin powers are of advantage when they are use as additions to ceramic masses and their rapidly effective wetting'powers make them useful as dust-binding agents; i

In the appended claims, the ex ression increasing the penetrating power is employed to describe that power of reagents to come easily or quickly into contact with the material "being treated, whether it be in a wettin dispersing, impregnating, foaming, emulsi ying, cleanmg or a like process. Further, the term fatty acid in the absence of limiting modifiers is employed in its broad sense and also refers to, in addition to the acids of the fatty acid series, other oily acids, including the unsaturated and the hydroxy acids. Y

I claim v 1. A reagent for increasing the penetrating power of treating agents com rising, a sulphuric acid ester-of an amide o ahig'her fatty acid.

2. A. reagent adapted for increasing the penetrating power of treating agents used in thetextile, leather, paper and fat-com.

vertin industries and the like, comprising a sul uric acid ester of an anilide having substituted for hydrogen'in its nitrogen nucleus an acyl radical derived from a higher fatty acid. a

3. A composition of matter for treating fibrous pulverulent and water-re llent materials, and materials not rea ly soluble compr sing a sulphuric acid ester of an amide of a higher fatt acid in combination with aknownagent a apted for altering the properties of such materials, said composition having increased efiiciency including penetratin power over the known agent when used a one.

4. Inthe rocess of producing a wetting, foaming or ispersion agent adapted for the treatment of fibrous, pulverulent, water-repellent materials, and difiicultlysoluble materials, the step comprisin incorporating in said agent su huric aci esters of amides of the higher atty acids.

5. A composition of matter com rising a treating agent dependent in part or its effectiveness ufion its penetrating power into such materia as fibrous, pulverulent, waterrepellant materials and diflicultly soluble materials, incombination with a substance adapted to enhance the netrating power of said agent consisting m a sulphuric acid ester of an amide of an acid of the higher fatty acid series.

6. A reagent for enhancing the wetting, impre ating, foaming, emuls1fying,dispersing, 0 eaning and like properties of treating agents comprising a sulphuric acid ester of an amide of a higher saturated fatty acid.

7. A reagent for enhancing the wetting, impre ating, foaming, emulsifying, dispersing, c eaning and like properties of treating agents comprising a sulphuric acid ester of an amide of a higher unsaturated fatty acid.

8, A reagent for enhancing the wetting, impre ating, foaming, emulsifying, dispersing, 0 eaning and like properties of treating agents comprising a sulphuric acid ester of an amide of a higher hydroxy fatty acid.

HEINRICH BERTSCH. 

